The Cardinals signed second baseman Skip Schumaker to a two-year, $4.7 million contract on Monday, avoiding arbitration.
It’s a modest surprise, given that the two sides had to close a wide gap for 2010. The Cardinals proposed a $1.45 million salary for Schumaker’s first year of arbitration, while Schumaker requiested $2.75 million, nearly twice as much.
Another part of the equation was that the Cardinals appeared to be flrting with free agent Felipe Lopez as an alternative at second base. Those talks have quieted, though.
In his first year as a second baseman, Schumaker hit .303/.364/.393 while serving as the Cardinals’ primary leadoff hitter. The former outfielder is a career .301/.356/.399 hitter in 1,327 at-bats.
Considering that he’s 30 and still a long shot to last as regular second baseman, this could well go down as Schumaker’s biggest payday. He’ll make $2 million this year and $2.7 million in 2011. He won’t be eligible for free agency for the first time until after 2012.

As a Cardinals fan who found Schumaker’s 2010 a very, very pleasant surprise in nearly every way, from his reliable offense to his consistently improving defense, I’m happy for the guy. When the experiment was announced, I assumed there was no way it would last all season; I can’t even imagine the amount of work that must have been required on the part of Schumaker and Jose Oquendo to actually make it a success.
{Side note: part of what was fun about watching Schumaker last year was that it was a very rare opportunity to actually see a player learn at the major league level: it was almost as if you could see his brain ticking over each time he successfully dealt with a relatively tough chance.}

Hey Levi.. Nice to hear that you are pleased, however, when he got to Cinti., all we had to do was throw a lefty against him. Then he is DONE! he may need a little more seasoning, and at 30, he had better season fast! I agree, that he can hit righties hwever.